Abstract
The paper proposes a method for game design innovation in story-driven games, as exemplified by the development of the adventure game prototype Rosemary. This method selects a game model in which a specific variation is introduced. Developing a game where the interface, interaction design, rules, goals, and themes are all new can be overwhelming for the user as well as the developers, so using a pre-existing model can ground the development and help evaluate the success of the innovation introduced. The design method proposed is called Genre Variation. This methodology relies on a particular story-driven game model as the foundation to introduce new mechanics. After selecting the model, the next step is identifying a design problem that has not been tackled before. Then the variation is implemented as a game prototype and evaluated, following the principles of iterative design. In this case study, the problem was designing the mechanics of memory, and how to turn remembering into a core mechanic of the game. This method is intended at facilitating game development within the limited resources of academia. CLARA FERNÁNDEZ-VARA MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, USA Innovation Methods in Story-Driven Games: Genre Variation
Keywords
Videogames, Game Design, Story-Driven Games, Methodology, Experimentation, Innovation
Citation
Fernández-Vara, C. (2010) Innovation Methods in Story-Driven Games: Genre Variation, in Durling, D., Bousbaci, R., Chen, L, Gauthier, P., Poldma, T., Roworth-Stokes, S. and Stolterman, E (eds.), Design and Complexity - DRS International Conference 2010, 7-9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/41
Innovation Methods in Story-Driven Games: Genre Variation
The paper proposes a method for game design innovation in story-driven games, as exemplified by the development of the adventure game prototype Rosemary. This method selects a game model in which a specific variation is introduced. Developing a game where the interface, interaction design, rules, goals, and themes are all new can be overwhelming for the user as well as the developers, so using a pre-existing model can ground the development and help evaluate the success of the innovation introduced. The design method proposed is called Genre Variation. This methodology relies on a particular story-driven game model as the foundation to introduce new mechanics. After selecting the model, the next step is identifying a design problem that has not been tackled before. Then the variation is implemented as a game prototype and evaluated, following the principles of iterative design. In this case study, the problem was designing the mechanics of memory, and how to turn remembering into a core mechanic of the game. This method is intended at facilitating game development within the limited resources of academia. CLARA FERNÁNDEZ-VARA MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, USA Innovation Methods in Story-Driven Games: Genre Variation